30 Mind-Twisting Tornado Facts

Beautiful but destructive, mean and long, a tornado is Mother Nature’s one of the most amazing creations. No matter how fascinating and beautiful they are, they are definitely not human-friendly. The magnetic beauty of the tornados have attracted many people so much that they decided to take a look at one of them up and close! Scientists take precautionary measures but everyone’s not that safety-savvy and thereby ends up exposing themselves to the wrath these tornados bring along. All of those who decided to get a closer look at the tornados without hooking themselves up with safety features eventually ended up dead.

Did we just manage to bore you to death? Okay! That’s sad! Let’s not waste time any further and learn 30 mind-twisting tornado facts. Ready?

Mind-Twisting Tornado Facts: 1-10

1. Super cells are the sources of tornados. Super cells are nothing but thunderstorms that are enormously big.

2. A tornado is actually a fast-moving, turbulent and strong air column that stays in contact with the earth. This column of air that resembles a funnel is known as vortex and its bottom end that stays in touch with earth has a cloud of debris and dust surrounding it.

3. The whirling wind in a tornado can reach a speed of 300 miles per hour but usually stays anywhere between 110 and 300 mph. It is this wind speed that gives a tornado its destructive power.

4. The duration a tornado will last depends of various factors. Usually, some of the tornados are found to last for only a few minutes but they can last up to 2 hours. In extreme cases, a tornado can last up to 4 hours. Anything greater than a few minutes is never good news.

5. Tornados can be really tall. They can reach the height of 75 feet!

6. Tornados move forward and they can actually move at a speed of 73 miles or 117 kilometers an hour.

7. Long-lasting tornados can leave a destruction trail which can be 50 miles long and 1 mile wide.

8. Tornados have categories based on their destructive force.

9. Their destructive force is measured using Fujita Scale and are categorized as F1, F2, F3, F4 or F5 category tornados.

10. F5s are terrible and the worst of the lot! They are THE MOST destructive tornados known to humans. There are several factors that are considered while categorizing these nasty fellows such as duration, distance travel, wind speed and more.

Mind-Twisting Tornado Facts: 11-20

11. In 1925, United States was hit by an F5 tornado that lasted for nearly 3.5 hours and traveled a distance of 219 miles. The tornado passed through parts of Illinois, Missouri and Indiana and is popular by the name Tri-State Tornado.

12. Tornados die just like everything else on this earth. They will last as long as their source of war air exists. A tornado is associated with rainfall. This rain drags a region of rapidly descending air region, which scientists call as RFD or rear flank downdraft. This drag in turn drags the area of organized rotation known as the Meso cyclone of the super cell from which the tornado originated. This drag eventually cools down the RFD and chokes the tornado by cutting off the warm air source and thereby dissipating the tornado.

13. Tornados do not have any consistent shape or structure. They can be long and thin like ropes or they can be wide and spiral.

14. Tornados can occur over water bodies. These tornados are known as waterspout tornadoes. There may be multiple-vortex tornados!

15. There is no open area that can be considered as tornado-safe. Some people believe that areas near mountains, rivers and lakes are safe but that’s just a myth. Tornados can occur just anywhere!

16. A tornado will look transparent when it starts until it actually hits the earth and starts picking up mud, dust and other debris.

17. When a tornado just starts rising, the sky takes a characteristic greenish hue. Scientists make use of Pulse-Doppler radar for detecting tornados. Data collection by this radar is based on the study of surrounding air reflectivity and velocity. Scientists also look for hook echoes and debris ball effects for detecting tornados.

18. Tornados usually spin in cyclonic direction however, some of these bad guys have been found to rotate in anticyclonic direction.

19. Cyclonic spin is characterized by clockwise spin in southern hemisphere and anticlockwise spin in northern hemisphere. Anticyclonic on the other hand is a ridge or high pressure circulation in southern and northern hemisphere.

20. The fastest winds on earth are found in tornados forming condensed water funnel.

Mind-Twisting Tornado Facts: 21-30

21. There is no specific time for tornado occurrences and a tornado can hit anytime throughout the year. However, the frequency of tornado occurrences is at its peak between April and May.

22. Tornados will usually travel a few miles before they die out.

23. Around 1200 tornados hit United States every year.

24. Bangladesh was hit by the most destructive tornado ever recorded in entire world. The tornado claimed more than 1300 lives and had hit Bangladesh in 1989 on April 26.

25. That tornado left a trail of complete devastation within 6 square kilometers. Except for a few tree skeletons, no other standing infrastructures were found.

26. Bangladesh ranks 3rd in terms of frequency of tornados. US ranks first followed by Canada.

27. Tornados also go by the name of Twisters.

28. The best place to hide during a tornado is a basement or any underground area.

29. It is widely believed that a tornado can make a house explode if a low pressure is developed inside the tornado. The actual fact is that the debris inside a tornado slams against house causing greater structural damage.

30. The noise made by tornados vary and depend on the objects they pick and carry along their path. Tornados moving along open plain have little noise to offer.